Not to be contrary, but the “lab folks” test is much more dependable than a gauge which can be broken and misreading pressures.& nbsp; When they built a new wing to our building, the first lab they finished did n’t have enough supply air.  According to which hood sashes were open, the re would be flow out of the hood into the lab.  The air flow display stil l read 100 lfm which was correct in terms of magnitude.  It just didn 217;t indicate that the flow was in the wrong direction!  I also once had th e risk management person in charge of keeping the hoods functioning correctly tell me that everything was ok in a lab that had positive rather than negative pres sure based on what the computer readouts said.   I’m not saying not to check gauges and checklists.  I’m  saying don’t de nigrate low-tech checks. They can be more reliable.

Kay

The box does have a gauge on it. I asked the lab folks if they look at it. They said their test was that if the gloves w ere poking out, then they knew it was ok. !!  I did remind them that once they graduate & go to a "real" job, recording things like pressure gauges in their lab book or checklist were considered basic requirements fo r any work. They said they'd set up a log sheet to do that. Can't make this s tuff up!

Kim Auletta
Lab Safety Specialist
EH&S    Z=6200
Stony Brook University
kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**notes.cc.sunysb.edu
631-632-3032
FAX: 631-632-9683
EH&S Web site: http://www.ston ybrook.edu/ehs/lab/

Remember to wash your hands!

From:	Christopher Suznovich <snuz**At_Symbol_Here**MAC.COM>
To:	DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Date:	11/08/2010 07:18 AM
Subject:	Re: [DCHAS-L] Glove box inspection checklist?
Sent by:	DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>

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If you are just looking to to ensure there are no leaks of gas from the box or into th e box, you could do a pressure test to determine if the pressure  remain s with an acceptable limit once filled with argon.  The opposite can als o be done by performing a vacuum test, drawing a complete vacuum inside the box and determine if the vacuum holds then you would know that there are no leaks.  

You could also leak a container of liquid smoke inside the box, purge the b ox with argon or any other gas and once under pressure watch to see if any of the smoke escapes from the box.  

Chris

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From: Kim Auletta <kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**NOTES.CC.SUNYSB.EDU>
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list. uvm.edu>
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:15:00 -0400
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Glove box inspection checklist?

I have a lab that is using a glove box to maintain an inert atmosphere with argon while working with lithium ribbon. While the operation looks ok on th e surface, they can't document or prove that they haven't had any failures (research labs are not production & no one ever thinks of these things! ). Does anyone have a glove box inspection checklist or other info they can sh are?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Kim Auletta
Lab Safety Specialist
EH&S    Z=6200
Stony Brook University
kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**note s.cc.sunysb.edu
631-632-3032
FAX: 631-632-9683
EH&S Web site: http://www.st onybrook.edu/ehs/lab/ << a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/">http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/>

Remember to wash your hands!